Is our £6m Thrive Together Fund right for you?

The Thrive Together Fund offers up to £150,000 as a blended package of loan (75%) and grant (25%) to those looking to grow or diversify their business models by providing funding to help strengthen operations, improve resilience, encourage growth, expand impact, and ensure long-term success. 

What is Social Investment? 

Social investment is the use of repayable finance to help an organisation achieve a social purpose. Charities and social enterprises can use repayable finance to help them increase their impact on society, for example by growing their business, providing working capital for contract delivery, or buying assets. 

What are the benefits of it? 

Although loans cannot be considered a direct replacement for grant funding, social investment can often be used much more flexibly and can be invested into an organisation to achieve long-term sustainability and scalability. As part of a balanced funding package, this can enable organisations to expand their reach, develop innovative programs, and leverage more funding. 

A big benefit of the Thrive Together Fund is that it is a blended product and includes 25% grant money alongside a 75% loan to provide even more flexibility to our customers. 

Is it right for me? 

Determining whether your organisation is ready for social investment requires careful consideration. Here are some key points to help you assess your readiness: 

1. Mission and impact: Ensure that your organisation has a clear mission and a well-defined, measurable social or environmental impact. Ensure that your organisation has robust systems in place to track, measure, and report the outcomes and social or environmental impact of your initiatives. 
2. Track record and credibility: Social investors often look for evidence of successful project implementation and a track record of delivering results. Assess whether your organisation has a history of effectively managing and executing programs that align with its mission. 
3. Financial stability and viability: Evaluate your organisation’s financial stability and sustainability. Social investors will want assurance that their investment will be utilised efficiently and that your organisation has the capacity to generate returns and repay the investment over time. 
4. Organisational capacity and governance: Assess the capacity of your organisation to manage the additional responsibilities and expectations that come with social investment. This includes having a competent and experienced leadership team, strong governance structures, and effective systems for monitoring and reporting. 
5. Strategic alignment: Evaluate how the investment can support your growth plans, expand your impact, or help you achieve specific milestones. 

Will I be accepted if I don’t have any assets? 

Many small to medium-sized organisations do not consider repayable finance, i.e. loans, because they do not have any assets they can offer as security. However, social investors, unlike banks, are often willing to support what may be perceived as higher risk loans in order to generate positive social impact, providing an organisation can show a robust financial plan for repayment. The Thrive together fund does not require security over any asssets. 

If the Thrive Together Fund seems like a good fit for your organisation, we would love to hear from you! You can find further information here. Or please feel free to contact SIB at loans@sibgroup.org.uk or one of the fund partners to find out more.